What are the services?

Social care services in the community are provided to help you
remain living independently in your own home.

These include home care and personal support (including night
sitting services), telecare equipment and alarms, day care or day
services, community meals (also known as meals on wheels) or any
meals you may have at a day centres or luncheon clubs, and
transport.

Please remember that this information is a general guide only
and that in some circumstances different rules will apply.

Paying for services provided in the community

Will I have to pay?

Yes, everybody has to pay something but it very much depends on
your own particular financial circumstances. We will look at your
finances with you and then we will work out how much you have to
pay.

What are the charges?

From 21st May 2018 the charges are as follows:

Fixed charges (everyone has to pay
these)

- Meals (at home or at a day centre): £3.35- Transport (each journey): £1.50

Other charges (you may be able to get help with
these)

- Home care or personal support services: £12.52 an hour
- Full day session at a day centre: £31.16 (this does not include
meals or transport)

Can I get help with the cost?

Everyone has to pay the cost of any meals or transport but you
may be able to get help with the other charges. We will help
you fill out a financial assessment form to see if you qualify for
financial support. To get a rough idea of costs use our online
calculator to carry out a quick, confidential financial self
assessment.

We will take into account any pensions you receive, Income
Support, the Guarantee Credit part of Pension Credit, Attendance
Allowance, the care component of Disability Living Allowance and
other social security benefits. We then take off an amount for your
living costs and look at how much is left.

We do not count any wages or salary you may receive or the
mobility component of Disability Living Allowance, War Disability
Pension, War Widows Pension, War Widows Supplementary Pension or
the Savings Credit part of Pension Credit.

We do take into account any savings you may have. If you have
savings over £23,250 you will have to pay the maximum contribution
towards the cost of any services you receive. Any savings between
£14,250 and £23,250 will also be taken into account when we decide
how much you will have to pay.

Click here to view our 'Fairer Charging Policy'
which tells you more about how we calculate people's contributions
to their care costs.

Examples of how we calculate charges

Here are some examples of how we calculate social care charges
for people over 60, but as each person's circumstances are
different (e.g. benefits, savings, outgoings etc), it's best to
contact the Income and Assessment team for a financial
assessment:

- Savings over £23,250 = self
funding

- Single person basic income of
£155.60 with no outgoings, no attendance allowance, no
savings and no private pension would be £0.00.

- Single person basic income of
£155.60, low rate attendance allowance of £55.10, no private
pension, no outgoings, no savings = £19.53 per week

Will I have to sell my house?

No, you will not have to sell the house you live in to pay for
any services that you receive. However, if you own any other land
or property, we will take the value of this into account.